Are you super protective of your digital camera? Regardless of whether your first camera was film or digital, you’re likely more ginger with your digital camera simply because you don’t want to damage it. If you’re not careful, though, you just might be developing some habits that are bad for your camera.

Habits to Avoid

The avid photographer is always on the go. With photo-ops all over the place, popping up at any given moment, you always want to be ready. However, there are some “time saving” habits that can cause big problems.

Opting to leave the camera outside of its protective case. It’s easy to stop reinserting your camera into its protective case in favor of keeping it in an easy-to-grab place. Common places a camera ends up include:

The kitchen table

The passenger or backseat of a car

The back of the sofa

A coffee table

The problem is that although these places are acceptable to your “time saving” strategy, they are deceptively safe. When the camera is outside of its protective case, it is susceptible to all sorts of possible damage from spills to impacts.

Using a single flash storage card. It’s easy to think that a single, sizable flash storage card is all you’ll ever need. However, keeping a single storage card makes it much more likely that you could accidentally overwrite or erase photos you haven’t copied from the card.

Using canned air to clean. It’s easy to grab a can of compressed air and think that it’s the best way to “blow out” the body or lens after a day of outdoor shooting. Resist this urge! According to TechHive.com, canned air can be lethal, especially if you are not exceedingly careful when using it.

Canned air can force air and dust into parts of the camera that are not airtight. As a result, the sensor can become contaminated. If you shake the can prior to using it, you can squirt propellant all over the camera and lens. In some cases, particles on the lens can even leave a scratch when strongly pushed by compressed air.

The best cleaning method for your camera is a good cloth and brush. You should also have it professionally cleaned as needed to remove deeply ingrained dust and particles safely. Lost data? Call eProvided

Forgetting to turn it off can be disastrous. Here’s a bit of advice you don’t hear very often: turn your camera off before you do anything to it. This includes changing lenses, connecting or disconnecting cables, and swapping flash memory cards.

For example, if the camera is on and actively writing to the memory card and you attempt to remove the card, you can ruin the card and possibly lose the images currently stored there. If you were to swap lenses while the camera is on, it’s possible to attract dust to the sensor. Get in the habit of turning your camera off prior to adding or removing anything. Moreover, don’t forget to turn it off when it’s not in use; you’ll save the battery life. For information on digital image recovery, click here.

Habits You Want To Nurture

Take the time to nurture some good habits, and you’ll safeguard both your devices and the data stored on them. Here are three habits to start keeping:

Keep track of flash storage cards; know which ones you used for a specific reason or a specific date to prevent deleting the wrong photo or set of photos. Here’s an organizational solution, memory card cases by B&H Photo.

Keep flash storage mediums away from pets, we see many cases where the memory cards are eaten and become damaged or bitten by your dog.